The Borgias

Starring Jeremy Irons, Showtime's "The Borgias" tells the tale of Pope Alexander or, as he was known before he was Pope, Rodrigo Borgia. Taking place in the 15th Century, we get to see a very different version of the world, religion, and politics than we do today. This is a world full of intrigue and assassination and blackmail and dirty politics. Okay, that doesn't really make it sound all that different from today, but trust us, it is. We might not be able to specifically define the difference (the lack of 21st Century technology, perhaps?), but this is not the world in which we currently live.

Past Events

There is little we like more than shows of political and personal intrigue. But, if we had a choice about a subset of personal and political intrigue shows, we'd go for a period piece version. Enter, "The Borgias." Showtime's series about the fabulously wealthy and intricacy-minded Borgia family features Jeremy Irons in the lead role and can amaze one from time to time. The series is based on real people and sort of, kind of, maybe on real things that happened, but we doubt stuff actually went down as it goes down here. It just feels unlikely. We don't let that bother us though, and neither should you, stories heightened for dramatic purposes can be fun.

The city of Rome prepares for a jubilee celebration, and Catherine concocts a scheme to disrupt the events; in Kefalonia, the Turkish fleet is decimated; Lucrezia discovers that Frederigo faked his death to remove Raphael from the equation.

The newly appointed Cardinal Farnese goes to the treasury and quickly discovers Versucci's theft; Micheletto searches for the Cardinal's whereabouts; Alexander takes advantage of a situation in order to replenish the coffers and call for a crusade.

The newly appointed Cardinal Farnese goes to the treasury and quickly discovers Versucci's theft; Micheletto searches for the Cardinal's whereabouts; Alexander takes advantage of a situation in order to replenish the coffers and call for a crusade.

The newly appointed Cardinal Farnese goes to the treasury and quickly discovers Versucci's theft; Micheletto searches for the Cardinal's whereabouts; Alexander takes advantage of a situation in order to replenish the coffers and call for a crusade.

The newly appointed Cardinal Farnese goes to the treasury and quickly discovers Versucci's theft; Micheletto searches for the Cardinal's whereabouts; Alexander takes advantage of a situation in order to replenish the coffers and call for a crusade.

Just about a month ago, a new Pope was announced. We know because we saw the white smoke and watched on television as that whole 'Habemus Papam' thing went down. We are, unquestionably, interested in whether or not the new Pope watches Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Pope Alexander, but we don't suspect that Pope Francis takes his cues from "The Borgias." It would be interesting if he did--we think it would change the world radically--but we don't expect that he does. It not being reality/educational doesn't mean that "The Borgias" isn't worth watching though, does it?

Do you know what we've learned from watching "The Borgias," it's that backstabbing and gossip is nothing new. You may think that all those traits which we know and love came along in recent years, but it's simply not the case, they've been around for centuries (maybe longer). Watch tonight as Jeremy Irons, as Pope Alexander VI wields his power in strong and sometimes disturbing ways and then look forward to him doing so again during the 2012-2013 television season.